Truth and Consequences
by rogoblue
Summary: Alpha has taken something from the Dollhouse and plans to change everything, but can’t resist demonstrating his superiority along the way.


Story: Truth and Consequences

Rating: M

Author: Rogoblue

Summary: Alpha has taken something from the Dollhouse and plans to change everything, but can't resist demonstrating his superiority along the way.

Spoilers: Season 1.

Disclaimers: The toys are Joss Whedon's. The idea is mine.

Dedication: For Susan on Christmas for encouraging me to revisit Laurence Dominic from time to time.

Pairing: Dominic/OC

Adelle DeWitt paused in reaching for the folder she'd planned to take to the gathering of all high level personnel at Rossum Corporation. An envelope rested on her chair. On it in bold black marker were the words, "Watch Me."

Picking up her phone, Adelle stared at the envelope. Her eyes never left it as she dialed his extension. "Come to my office, Mr. Langton," she said the instant Boyd picked up. "Bring Topher and Mr. Ballard with you."

Adelle carefully opened the envelope and held it open side down over her desk. A DVD tumbled out. She had just put the DVD into her player when the men arrived. Without preamble, she pressed play.

Alpha's face took up the entire screen. "Hi, Adelle and friends," he said. "I know you're having trouble finding what I took from you and I know why. You have absolutely no idea where to look. So I'll give you a hint." Alpha grinned at the camera. "Or two."

Pausing the DVD, Adelle asked, "Have you any leads on Mr. Dominic's whereabouts, Mr. Langton? It's been three days since that ill fated conversation with Mr. Herman from the NSA."

"None we haven't explored to no avail," Boyd said. "He disappeared from that parking structure as though he'd never been there."

"I see," Adelle murmured, turning back to the screen, squaring her shoulders and pressing play once again.

Alpha's grin widened. "Enjoy the show," he said and the screen faded to black.

Light gray suit still appearing freshly pressed, Laurence Dominic stared down at the gun in his hand. Taking a deep breath, he put it in the pocket of his suit coat and started up the walk of a pleasant, two story suburban home.

"Where is that?" Adelle asked, pausing the video again.

"Could be anywhere," Ballard said. Langton nodded in agreement.

"All right." Adelle pressed play. "What are you thinking, Laurence?" she murmured, trying to interpret the complicated intent expression on Dominic's face.

Two boys and a girl came around the corner of the house. Adelle put the older boy at nine or ten, the younger at six or seven. The little girl looked to be three or four. The children stopped as did Laurence. Swallowing hard, Dominic's hand dropped to his suit coat pocket.

"No," Topher whispered. "I can't watch this." Adelle didn't comment that Topher neither turned away nor closed his eyes.

The three kids shouted, "Daddy," and the race was on. Dominic grinned and crouched to meet the onslaught. Arriving in a dead heat, the boys launched themselves at Laurence. A small, plaintive voice announced, "I hug Daddy, too."

"Let your sister have a turn," Laurence said, gently yet firmly moving the boys off to either side. "Look at you, Megan," he said, taking her hand to pull her close. "You're getting so big."

The sound of glass breaking caused all four to look up. "I'm officially home," Laurence said. "Your mom's broken something." Slowly rising to his feet, he faced a tall slender brunette with bright green eyes as though awaiting a verdict.

"The moratorium on video games has just been lifted," the woman said to general child based approval. "Go in the front, so I can clean up this mess without worrying about any of you." In a few heartbeats, the two adults were alone, silently working together to pick up the remains of a water pitcher.

"Pretty lady," Paul Ballard commented when Adelle paused the video.

"Kids," Topher muttered. "Dominic has kids."

"He has no idea what she's thinking," Langton observed. "He's walking on eggshells."

Adelle DeWitt stared at the two people on the screen who were determinedly not looking at each other, wondering at the nature of their relationship, wondering how Laurence managed to sustain anything over the last four years.

"Let it play a while," Langton suggested. "We can exchange impressions when a natural stopping point presents itself."

"Agreed," Adelle said.

* * *

Broken glass disposed of, children settled with games, awkward silence between them continuing, Laurence Dominic and the mother of his children finally looked into each other's eyes. "Don't," he whispered, wiping a tear from her cheek. "Please don't cry."

"I've been worried sick," she whispered. "You don't call. You don't text. No email. Nothing. All I get is Ted stopping by on a nearly daily basis to tell me you're dead or as good as and that I need to move on or get grief counseling or something. Other women worry that their husbands are sleeping around. I worry that mine's face down in a ditch somewhere with a bullet in the back of his head. Tell me what happened to you!"

"I'm sorry, Kara," Laurence said. "But you know I can't."

"No, David. You're not going to play the secret agent card. Not this time."

"Especially this time," he said.

She put her hands on his shoulders, moved them along his arms to his hands and back to his shoulders, as though making sure he was really present. Finally satisfied, Kara framed his face with her hands and whispered, "I'm on the fast track to insanity right now. You need to give me something. I can't turn my feelings on and off like you can. I need to know. To … to … understand."

"I didn't contact you because I couldn't. I was … incarcerated. Sort of."

"How can you be sort of incarcerated?"

"Locked up but not in any official way. And I … um … lost my mind for a little while."

* * *

"That is quite enough, Topher," Adelle said, eyes narrowing in disapproval.

"I can't help it," Topher said. "The almost literal truth is funny."

* * *

"Lost your mind?" Kara crossed her arms in front of her, radiating annoyance.

He nodded. "I couldn't remember anything." Voice picking up speed as he talked, he said, "So I wouldn't have contacted you even if I could've."

"That's convenient. The not remembering thing."

"You asked. I answered. What more do you want?"

"I want my husband back."

"When I finish this assignment," he said.

"It's finished," Kara whispered. She backed the ferocity of her words with a deep intense kiss. "It has to be. I'll lose my mind if it isn't."

"There are some … ah … loose ends to tie up."

"Don't lie to me!" Eyes softening abruptly, Kara kissed her husband like there was going to be no tomorrow. "You were sort of incarcerated and now you aren't. You lost your mind and found it someplace. You're barely in our lives for three years and then not at all for a lot of a fourth and now you're here. You're not going back. I won't let you."

"I'm not going back. I'm just … trying to put a stop to something that never should've started, Kara."

"No job is worth this."

"This isn't about the job," Laurence/David said, suddenly looking as though he wished he was somewhere else. "I don't have a choice. I have to do this."

"How do you not have a choice?"

"The guy who got me out is … well, he's nuts and he's brilliant and he has a plan to get the outcome I want and he needs me to put it in motion."

"You're working with an insane man?" Kara wrapped her arms around Laurence/David's neck and stared into his eyes. "Listen to yourself, David. Just listen and explain how you're making sense."

"I have to work with Alpha."

"The crazy person's name is Alpha. Why am I not surprised?"

"He knew Laurence Dominic was David Gray. He called me David and brought me here. The kids were out back. I looked at them with polite interest while he told me how Derek's flag football team is doing, how Doug loathes math, how Megan builds pyramids with her teddy bears and on and on and on. I rolled my eyes and stared into space. Then you came out and when I needed to the most, I couldn't play the part." Laurence/David cupped Kara's chin in his hand. "I couldn't take my eyes off of you and I couldn't make myself say it was because you look really good in jeans and a tank top. I couldn't do what I needed to do to keep you all safe. With you, it's always been about the truth."

"You think Alpha will try to hurt us?" she asked.

"No, but he'll tell them about you."

"Who?"

"The people I worked for while undercover."

"You think they'll try to hurt us."

"Yes."

* * *

"We wouldn't hurt those kids," Topher murmured. Taking a peek at Adelle, he asked, "Would we?"

"We will do what we must, Topher," Adelle replied.

"We would," Topher barely breathed. "We suck."

* * *

"What's your incentive to work with Alpha if you think he'll sell us out?"

"I strike first. Get them before they get you," Laurence/David said, sliding his arms around Kara's waist. "God, I've missed you."

"Once you relocated your mind," she said, pressing against him.

"I think I missed you even while it was lost."

"You're so smooth. Is it any wonder I've had your children?"

He kissed her hard. Both were panting when they parted. Kara unbuttoned his suit jacket. Smiling, she slid it off of his shoulders and threw it on the kitchen counter. Working on his tie, she whispered, "I'm not going to let you wear suits ever again."

"Why?" he asked, watching his tie go the way of his jacket.

"They'll remind me of this assignment of yours. I hate it. What it's done to you. To us."

They kissed, hard, intense, without pause. Kara tugged his shirt out of his pants. Boosting herself to sit on the counter while kissing him, Kara wrapped her legs around his waist. "You aren't officially home yet," she murmured, smile promising very interesting things. "But you will be."

"Christ," Laurence/David muttered. "Hold on, Kara. We don't have to rush this."

"Hell we don't."

Laughing, he ran his hands along her back. "This is how Megan came to be, remember?"

Kara grinned. "I'll never have the heart to tell her that she was likely conceived against the wall of our garage because I couldn't keep my hands off of her father."

"I don't recall making much of an effort to fend you off."

"Kind of like now," she said, giving his mouth something far more interesting to do than talk for a time.

"Exactly like now." Laughing again, he said, "C'mon, Kara. Let's take this to the bedroom."

"When did you become conservative?"

"I'm not conservative. I'm pragmatic."

"Pragmatic?" Kara asked, rocking her lower body against his.

He closed his eyes. "In another couple of minutes, I'm not going to be able to stop, even if someone decides they need a snack or a juice box or what have you. If we're not in the kitchen, that won't be an issue."

"Get the Goldfish down," Kara ordered. "Just in case. They're on their own for drinks."

Laurence/David put a box of snack crackers on the counter and grabbed his suit coat. Kara's raised eyebrow earned a shrug. Her narrowed eyes prompted him to say, "I don't think it's smart to leave my gun down here."

"Damn it, David! You know I hate guns."

"As much as you know I need one." The impasse lasted all of six seconds. They were kissing as they headed for the stairs.

Alpha's face appeared again. Adelle DeWitt paused the video. "Comments?" she asked.

"If this is staged, it's brilliant," Paul Ballard offered. "For the record, I don't think it is."

"Agreed," Boyd Langton muttered. "There're too many small moments, bits of history, unconscious reading of the other's body language. This is real."

"I never thought I'd … be … envious of Big Bad Laurence," Topher said. "But … look at the two of them. What's not to like?"

All three men looked to Adelle, waiting for her verdict. She, who would've sworn she'd known Laurence Dominic better than anyone, felt the visceral truth of what she was witnessing on screen. "The extent of the deception inherent in what we're seeing, perhaps?" she said, eyeing the remote control.

When DeWitt pressed play, Alpha said, "Now, I know one or two people in the room wouldn't mind seeing Laurence Dominic or David Gray or whoever getting naked with his lovely wife and I can tell you the newly stripped version pales in comparison to the lightly sweaty, post coital, lazy smile wearing model. I've included that in a separate file so you can get all nasty and naughty with it. For this purpose, I'll tell you he has a healthy and satisfying physical relationship with Kara, his wife of ten plus years." Alpha smiled beatifically. "She was his nurse at a psychiatric hospital when he had some issues with one of his previous assignments. That nurse, sitting with him, holding his hand, listening to him rave and talk and rave again, did tons more for him than all the specialists they had him see. No doubt the NSA was well and truly pissed not too long after he got his more or less clean bill of mental health. The golden boy, the hatchet man, the guy who could be anyone they needed him to be went and got married on them. And had the nerve to add insult to injury and had a kid. And a second. And then a girl for pity's sake." Alpha looked over his shoulder. "Speaking of which …"

The family was arrayed around the dinner table eating pizza. Megan was sitting on Laurence/David's lap, feeding him. "Did you have nice sex with mommy, daddy?"

He froze. "What?" he said.

"That's what mommies and daddies do sometimes," Megan espoused, tapping Laurence/David on the nose with her finger. "They have sex. Daddy, will I have a little brother soon?"

"What have you been telling her?" he asked Kara. "She'll be four next week, right?"

"The truth," Kara said, blushing bright red, ducking her head slightly into the collar of Laurence/David's dress shirt that she'd appropriated. "She came into our bedroom when I was watching TV and I explained the scene to her."

"I have sex with someone someday."

Mother and father stared at daughter. "When you're thirty," Laurence/David muttered.

"That a long time." Megan frowned in the over exaggerated manner only a toddler can pull off.

"Yes," he said. Laurence/David stifled Kara's laughter with a kiss. Kara lengthened it by catching hold of the casual plaid button down he wore unbuttoned over a navy T-shirt.

"Mommy and daddy kissing is happy," Megan crowed, grinning big. "Not mommy and the other man."

"Shut up, Megs," Derek snarled. "Mommy doesn't even like him."

"Me neither," Doug piped in.

"What other man?" Laurence/David's voice was low, harsh, dangerous, eyes cold as ice.

Kara pulled his head in for another kiss and tempted him into a response. "I love it when you're jealous. I really do. It makes me feel sexy and powerful." She tried a small smile. "I told you Ted's been hovering," Kara said, taking his hand, daring him to look away. "It doesn't matter what he tries to get away with. I love you, David."

Alpha's shit eating grin appeared once more. Adelle paused the video.

"Megan rocks!" Topher said. "We seriously can't hurt her."

"Kara didn't expect that powerful a reaction to the other man," Boyd Langton said. "She likely expected one, but not that."

"She did give him the 'You ought to know better than that' look," Ballard added.

"Particularly after we screwed our brains out upstairs just now," Topher said.

"However experienced and well trained, a man in love and under extreme stress is pressed to think logically," Adelle observed. "Ready?" Receiving three nods, she punched play.

"Isn't that special?" Alpha asked, laughing. "I mean, look at how she's looking at him." The screen split. On one side, Alpha gestured grandly. On the other, Kara Gray's green eyes were soft, gentle, electric and focused on Laurence/David. "That's the real deal, kiddies," Alpha said. "Topher imprints actives to look at clients exactly like that. They have the fantasy. He has the reality. His wife loves him. He'd lay down his life for her and those kids. That's real emotion, folks. That's what makes life worth living. Think about it." Alpha sighed theatrically. "And they talk too," he whispered, smiling.

Laurence/David and Kara sat together on their couch, her back to his chest. Two candles and two wine glasses rested on the coffee table in front of them. "What are you thinking?" he asked.

"I'm wondering why you nearly went postal at the mention of another man," she whispered, tilting her head to look up at him. "Don't you trust me anymore?"

"I do, it's just …"

"Just what?"

He took a deep breath. "I was worried you'd gotten tired of waiting this time, Kara."

She smiled. "I excel at waiting."

"You'd have to," Laurence/David muttered.

Kara shifted to face him, settling on his lap. Running her fingers through his slightly longer than normal hair, she pressed her other hand against his cheek. She smiled when he turned his head to place a kiss on her palm. "David," Kara whispered, "I fell in love with you a long time ago. It's been hard these last few years, but you've done your best. You never missed one of the kids' birthdays. Or mine. Or Christmas. And except for this past year, you always had two or three weeks in the summer and another one or two in the fall and winter. With the occasional weekend sprinkled in, I know I shouldn't complain, but I'm greedy. I want us to come first." Kara closed her eyes briefly. "No, that's not true. I'm greedier than that. I want to come first."

"You do, Kara," Laurence/David whispered. "You don't know it. You can't, given the circumstances, but you do. You always have."

"How do you do that?"

"What?"

"Say exactly the right thing," Kara murmured, pulling him in for a quick kiss. Rueful sad smile in place, she added, "Even when you're full of shit, you deliver your lines with wide eyed sincerity."

"I am sincere," he growled, reaching for a wine glass.

"That's mine," Kara protested.

"An insincere person would drink from it anyway." Fighting a smile or a smirk, he said, "Observe how I put your glass back right where I found it and take up the other one."

Laughing, Kara suddenly burst into tears.

"Hey," Laurence/David said. "Hold on. What's this about now?"

"I'm afraid for you," she murmured. "I'm afraid for all of us."

Laurence/David pulled her close and held her. "Kara, I swear to you. I'll do everything in my power to make this right. If all goes well, nothing will change for you or the kids."

"If it doesn't?"

"I'll say I'm sorry in advance and I'll mitigate the damage as much as I can." Looking into her eyes, wiping away her tears, he bit his lip. "I made this mess. I know that. I accept responsibility and I—."

"I don't care who's responsible," Kara said. "I just want us to be together."

Voice quiet, calm, implacable, he said, "If I pull this off, I'll get out."

"What are you saying, David?"

"I've put in my twenty. I'll take my pension and get the hell out."

Eyes alight with hope, Kara shifted to straddle Laurence/David's lap. "Do you mean that? Really mean that?" He nodded. She asked, voice low and clearly frightened, "Will they let you?"

"They can't stop me," he countered. "Look, I know the NSA will bring a lot of pressure to bear. Offer a bunch of cash. They'll use every psychological trick in the book, but I've been through worse than they can throw at me. Nothing they can say or do will change my mind."

"Are you sure?"

"I know how close I've come to losing everything and I know I may yet. I'm not going to put myself in that position again."

"Have I mentioned I love you?"

"Yeah," he said, smiling sadly. "But, Kara, if I don't make it back—."

"No, David—."

"Hear me out, Kara, please." After placing the gentlest of kisses on her lips, Laurence/David said, "Don't wait on me. If you don't hear soon, you won't. Find someone else who can make you happy. Just … just not Ted, ok?"

"Definitely not Ted," Kara agreed. Matching his kiss with hers, she asked, "What will you do once you're out?"

"I don't know. Guys consult or teach or open a bar." Looking into his wine glass, Laurence/David added, "If I can access my Swiss bank account somehow, I won't have to work. Neither of us will."

"Swiss bank account? Since when do you have a Swiss bank account, David?"

"That's how I've been paid for the last few years while undercover. I have no idea whether the account's been frozen or not, but … hell, I earned that money."

"When …?" Blinking back tears, Kara opted to kiss him rather than continue. A while later, she whispered, "When will you go?"

"When will he head off to be a hero and save the fair damsel and small persons and live happily ever after?" Alpha said.

Adelle cursed her inability to pause the video more quickly. "Comments, gentlemen?" she asked.

"Have you frozen his account?" Ballard asked, tone laconic, belying his intense concentration.

"I saw little point," Adelle said. "It's as he said. He earned it and before a few days ago, he was in no position to collect it."

"Don't," Topher advised. "I wish my dad showed up for my birthdays." Oddly pensive, Topher clasped his hands together.

"She believes him," Langton observed.

"You don't, Mr. Langton?" Adelle asked.

"As far as what he's said, I do, Ms. DeWitt, but I wonder what he's omitted."

"Sins of omission?" she asked. Langton nodded.

"What do you get a four year old girl for Christmas?" Topher mused.

Adelle sighed. "He fits the part Alpha has cast him in, don't you think?" she said. "A flawed one, perhaps, but he's been painted heroically thus far."

"Why?" Langton asked.

"Why, indeed," Adelle agreed. Bracing for Alpha, she pressed play.

"This brings us to the very important, yet admittedly side topic of how you people differ from me," Alpha said. "You find out Dominic is NSA; it's off to the Attic. Very few, if any, questions asked. Me, I think, 'Hmmmm. I wonder who he really is.' So I poke around and what do I discover?" Alpha spread his hands wide. "I find out you've tossed one of the good guys away to rot. David Gray has brought down white slavers, drug cartels, terrorist cells, a couple of dictators and engineered himself a few other rebellions that were actually good for the common folks. And near as I can tell, the people he's assassinated had it coming." Looking annoying smug, Alpha said, "I think we can make it official. I'm a better class of person than you all. I actually checked. Looked beyond the surface. Didn't get bogged down in the emotion of the moment. Considered the big picture. I could go on, but I think even the densest among you get the idea." Shrugging, Alpha sighed. A slow snide smile slid across his face. "The moral high ground feels great. You have another peek while I enjoy it."

"I'm not sure when this is going to go down," Laurence/David said. "Alpha said he'd be back for me when it's time." Hands on his wife's hips, he whispered, "I don't think it'll be more than two or three days."

"That soon?" she asked, shifting her lower body against his.

"I don't get a patient vibe from Alpha." He smiled as Kara moved her hips again. "Or from you for that matter."

"Megan wants a little brother," she said, smiling at his dismay.

"I thought we agreed we were out of the baby making business."

"We did," Kara said, encouraging Laurence/David to lean slightly forward so she could pull off his shirt, leaving only the T-shirt behind.

Breath coming slightly faster, he slipped his hands beneath his dress shirt to access Kara's body. "So we are, right?" he asked. Laurence/David smiled her low sexy laugh for an answer. "Why do you look better in my shirts than I do?"

She tugged at his T-shirt. "I don't. Help me get this off, David."

"Doug still having nightmares?" he asked, making no move to assist in T-shirt removal.

"Rarely." Kara stood. Eyes never leaving Laurence/David's she unbuttoned her jeans and slid down the zipper with a slow deliberate motion. In similar fashion, she slid them over her hips and along her thighs. Letting them drop from knee to floor level, she asked, "You want to help me with the rest."

"You're doing great on your own, Kara."

"Losing your mind made you lazy," Kara murmured. Sliding her minimalist underwear along the same route as the jeans, she said, "I'm going to have to do all the work tonight, aren't I?" Lips slightly parted, Laurence/David concentrated on his wife's every movement. Kara stepped out of both jeans and panties and straddled his lap once more. "I thought I was going to get a night off from doing for myself." She leaned in to kiss him, making thorough work of it. "Can't blame a woman for hoping, can you?"

"God, Kara," he murmured, tangling his fingers in her hair, claiming her lips. When she tugged at his T-shirt again, he pulled it off, relinquishing her lips only for the few moments necessary to pull it over his head. The duel continued for a time.

Kara pulled back, licked her bruised lips and whispered, "Relax, David." She gently bit his earlobe, smiling at his low groan. She kissed along the length of his throat, nearly half way along his shoulder and down to a nipple. Applying her lips and tongue with the deftness possible only when a woman knows exactly what her man wants, Kara ignored Laurence/David's increasingly restless movements. When he moaned her name, Kara lifted her head, smiled at his somewhat dazed expression and unfastened his jeans.

"What's that?" Laurence/David whispered. His hips left the couch when she lightly bit the nipple she'd ruthlessly stimulated.

"What?" she asked.

"Sound," he panted. "Doorbell?" Kara sat up, slid off of his lap and swore creatively. "Are you expecting anyone?" Laurence/David asked.

"Ted stops by on the way home from happy hour sometimes," Kara said.

Laurence/David grabbed his shirts, her discarded clothes and one of the wine glasses. "I'm not here. You haven't seen me."

"What? David, why? He works with you."

"I'm off the reservation, Kara." They stared at each other for an instant when the doorbell rang again. "I'm going to ask the NSA for forgiveness, not permission. Go on," he urged Kara to stand. "You have to answer. He knows you and the kids are here and it's not late enough for you to be in bed." He smiled. "Not alone at any rate." He avoided her halfhearted punch. "Go on. You can do this."

Kara walked to the front door. Laurence/David took a quick look around for more evidence that Kara hadn't been sipping wine alone before striding to the kitchen by a route that couldn't be seen from the front door. Kara opened the door on its chain. "Ted? Hey, I was just getting ready to go upstairs."

"Can I come in for just a sec?" said a boyish sounding voice.

"Just that long," she said, opening the door.

A dark haired, powerfully built man in his late twenties or early thirties stepped across the threshold and entered, examining the room with a roving glance. Eyes widening, he gestured to Kara. "David home?"

"You've been telling me he's as good as dead for months. How could he be home?"

"You're wearing his shirt," Ted observed, watching Kara closely.

She looked away. "I was missing him a lot today."

"Have you heard from him, Kara?" Ted asked.

"My God, Ted, have you? Have you heard from David? Heard anything about David? Please, Ted, if you have, please tell me." Tears welling up in her eyes, she said, "Please."

"A rumor, that's all. Nothing I've been able to confirm."

"A rumor," she whispered, gripping her wine glass in both hands. "That's better than nothing. I think."

"You look good, Kara," Ted murmured, taking a step toward her. "Really good."

"You're a little drunk," she said, backing up a step. "Go home, Ted. Sleep it off."

"You know I'm here for you," he said. "Always."

"I know. Get some rest."

Kara stood, staring at the front door well after Ted had left. Arms came around her from behind, "That was perfect," Laurence/David murmured. "And so are you."

"I am so not liking that Ted," Alpha announced, head much larger than life size on screen. "Anyone with me? Anyone?" Adelle stopped the video and raised an eyebrow at the other viewers.

"I think they should give Megan a little brother," Topher said in a near whisper. "And I'm with Alpha on the Ted issue."

Ballard fought a smile. "It's a classic scenario. Brother in arms goes down. Someone steps in to take care of the wife and kids."

"I don't think Ted has any interest in the kids," Langton said, frowning at the screen.

"Something else, Mr. Langton?" Adelle asked.

"Could Ted have known what Mr. Dominic was wearing when he went missing?" Langton mused softly. "That shirt isn't your standard white. If anyone mentioned the two-tone blue striped shirt, he might suspect she was lying."

"True enough," Adelle said. "Anything else?"

Ballard frowned intently. Boyd's eyes narrowed in concern. Topher's eyes widened with disquiet. Adelle did Ballard's frown one better and reluctantly pressed play.

Alpha howled. Adelle winced at the piercing noise. "I've always wanted to do that on screen," Alpha said. "Last bit, kiddies, then the show'll be over and done and you can go back to your dull, boring and ultimately pointless lives."

Kara laughed as Laurence/David pulled her down onto the bed with him. "Now, who's in a hurry?" she asked.

"What do you expect after what you did to me downstairs?" Laurence/David frowned. "Are you trying to say you have a headache?" he asked before kissing her to preclude a verbal answer. She firmly denied the mild accusation with her body. "I want you, Kara," he whispered.

"When have I ever denied you anything you want?" she said, surrendering completely to his fingers stroking her, unbuttoning the shirt she was wearing.

"There was that time in Utah," he whispered as he thrust into her.

"Utah?" The word turned into a moan when his hands touched her breasts in just the right way.

"Tent," he said, hips moving with a purpose. "Canyon Lands."

"It was freezing!" she protested, pushing ineffectually against his chest. "And we couldn't get the damn sleeping bags to zip together."

"You're citing tech … Christ you're gorgeous … technical difficulties?"

"Shut up, David," Kara said, tone making the words into an invitation that she sealed with a kiss filled with months of pent up emotion.

"Damn," Laurence/David said, stopping in mid thrust.

"What's wrong?" Kara asked, watching him finger the sleeve of the shirt she was barely still wearing. "David?"

"Damn it," he muttered, disengaging, rolling off of her. "You need to put that shirt in the laundry now. Ted made you see how you were depressing yourself by wearing it, so you tossed it in with a load of stuff before you went to bed." Laurence/David sighed and pulled Kara close again. "And I have to leave before dawn, just in case they realize this was the shirt I was wearing when I talked to Herman."

Looking like she'd rather be doing anything rather than uttering the words coming out of her mouth, Kara said, "Shouldn't you go now?"

"Nah," he said, tilting her head for a leisurely kiss. "Ted's always been sloppy and deathly afraid someone will notice and call him on it. He won't do anything until he's sobered up. He's also a glory hound. So he won't budge until he figures how to turn the situation to his advantage." He kissed her again. "Particularly since he stands to lose face with you when he acts on what he thinks he knows. So … we have a little time to say goodbye."

"I'm glad." Catching his hands in hers, Kara said, "Come home, David. You promised me you would always come home."

"I'll try, Kara."

"Make like a Nike spokesman or a Jedi Master." To his raised eyebrow, she said, "Skip trying. Just do it."

The screen faded to black and Alpha strode into Adelle DeWitt's office. "Hi!" he said, displaying his handgun to all and sundry. "Don't make me use this. I've offed enough Rossum Corporation employees today." Looking around the room, Alpha's eyes widened and his grin got bigger. "You haven't heard. Of course you haven't. You've been watching the David Gray story unfold." Alpha bowed to Adelle DeWitt. "I trust I'm the first to congratulate you on your rise to power."

"My … what?" Adelle managed, looking for help in interpreting Alpha speak and receiving none.

"You missed the big meeting today," Alpha said.

"The beginning of it," she allowed.

"It's all over except for some screaming by the soon to be former Rossum Corporation and Dollhouse executives," Alpha said, shaking his head, eyes sad. "All of those pesky people at your level or higher on the food chain. Gone. Poof." Staring at Adelle, Alpha said, "Someone leaked a highly flammable, odorless gas into the facility—a Rossum Corporation experimental compound. Someone else lit a match to a fuse. Neither of those were Rossum products. A pity. The scenario would've been perfect if we could've used all Rossum stuff."

"If any such event were to have taken place, the Dollhouses would be under lockdown and we'd be experiencing full system shutdown," Adelle said.

"That's what your former chief of security said." Alpha glanced at his watch. "In seven, six, five, four, three, two, one." The lights flickered and Adelle's laptop computer shut down. "You'll need the priming codes to reboot."

"I do not have those codes, Alpha," Adelle said.

"And that is why you need me and my partner in this delightful crime. I have one. He has the other. Another reason why it took two for this tango."

"You and Mr. Dominic?" she asked.

"I'd get some practice with Mr. Gray if I were you," Alpha muttered, a frown tugging at his lips. "He's late. He should've been here before me." Fishing a cell phone from his pocket, Alpha said, "I swear, if the NSA has screwed this up, I'm going to have to write my congressman."

"By all means, make your call, Alpha," Adelle encouraged, determinedly not looking at Paul Ballard who was sidling into position behind Alpha.

"Mr. Dom—ah, Gray may be in a situation where a ring tone would be detrimental," Langton observed.

"Adelle, you need the codes," Alpha noted sharply. "Call off your FBI dog."

Nod conceding the point, Adelle said, "Thank you, Mr. Ballard, but I believe we'll wait and see how Alpha's drama plays out."

Alpha bowed to DeWitt again. "As a gesture of good faith, I'll enter my code. If you'd be so kind as to power up your machine."

"Now what?" Adelle asked after Alpha had performed as promised.

"We wait," Alpha said. "Why not make yourself useful, Topher, and pour me a drink?" When Topher frowned, Alpha said, "Did I mention I have a straight razor with me?"

Topher served drinks.

* * *

"Where is he?" Alpha snarled, pacing the room in enraged frustration. "We agreed this was the only thing that made sense. We fucking agreed. Shook hands. The whole nine yards. Without the codes, the whole thing is pointless. If they have to start from scratch, who knows who they'll put into power. If you step in, calm everyone down and take charge, they'll go with it." Alpha stopped and stood more still than seemed humanly possible. "Damn all government employees. Where in the hell is he?"

A knock sounded loud on DeWitt's door. With Paul Ballard at his side, Boyd Langton moved to open it. A bruised, battered and bloodied Laurence Dominic/David Gray swayed unsteadily on the other side of the threshold. One hand pressing what looked to once have been a white towel to his shoulder. The other hung uselessly at his side.

"What the hell happened to you?" Alpha screamed. "Do you realize how boring it is here when nothing works?"

Laurence/David looked both wary and grateful when Langton put a hand under the elbow of his bad arm and helped him inside.

"Is Megan ok?" Topher asked.

Laurence/David glared but was unable to sustain the hostility. "She's scared, Topher. I couldn't exactly explain all this blood away."

"I'm good with scared kids," Topher said. "Having been one."

"I—," Laurence/David began, clearly getting ready to shake his head.

"Me too," Paul Ballard said. He gestured to himself. "Paul Ballard."

"I know." A slight smile appeared amidst the grimace. "I guess I'm David Gray again."

Ballard smiled. "I know."

Laurence/David's eyes found Topher's. He looked away and back again, trying to decide. "See what you can do. They're waiting outside," he said.

"In your … vehicle?" Topher asked.

"No. I didn't feel comfortable leaving them exposed."

"The lobby?"

"In the elevator lobby of this floor."

"It's too bad I can't get at my stash of toys or inappropriate starches right now," Topher said. "But I'll make do."

Langton moved with Laurence/David in Topher's wake. The moment they turned the corner to face the bank of elevators, Kara's eyes found her husband's. He forced a smile. "It's ok, Kara. He's harmless. To children anyway."

Topher approached slowly and crouched down about ten feet from where all three kids were huddled next to their mom's chair. "Hi," he said, voice soft, smile wide. "I'm Topher. I've worked with your daddy for a while now. He told me you were scared because of all the red stuff, but I'm going to tell you a little secret. Just between us, ok? Your daddy doesn't know this, but your mommy might." All three kids nodded, wide eyed but attentive, all leaning slightly forward. "Your daddy's the toughest guy I know and I've designed some pretty tough guys in my day, so you have no worries. Right?" Topher turned his goofy smile on Megan. "Hi, beautiful."

"Hi, Toe-Fur," Megan said, walking right up to the neuroscientist. "Daddy hurts."

"I know, but we're going to get right on fixing that."

"Mrs. Gray," Adelle DeWitt said, "Can we get you anything? Coffee? Scotch?"

Kara smiled. "I would kill for a Scotch." Coming to Laurence/David's side, she said, "How are you feeling?"

"Dizzy," he admitted. "I need to get this done."

"Go," Kara whispered, kissing him lightly on the mouth.

Langton and Laurence/David passed Paul Ballard bearing Scotch on their way back to DeWitt's office. "Thank you," Laurence/David said. Ballard inclined his head slightly. As they approached DeWitt's desk, Laurence/David said, "Wait. I … I … don't think I can …" He closed his eyes. "Can't."

Halting immediately, Langton turned worried eyes to the hyperventilating, sweating, bloodied mess. Trusting his instincts, Langton asked, "Did you take the bullet during your excursion with Alpha?"

"No. They … they had my family," Laurence/David whispered.

"The NSA?" Adelle asked, unnerved by the lifeless quality to her former chief of security's eyes.

Closing his eyes, reopening them, testing his vision, Laurence/David nodded. "It's ok. I'm ok now, Langton." They finished the journey. Coming to a halt before Adelle's computer, Laurence/David frowned. Adelle replaced his hand holding the towel to his shoulder with both of hers. He deftly entered his part of the code to reset the system. "The tech is yours now, Adelle," Laurence/David said. "Be careful how you use it."

"Will the NSA accept that?" she asked.

He shrugged and cried out in pain. "Damn, that was stupid," Laurence/David muttered. Slowly focusing on DeWitt, he said, "They owe me. I gave them twenty fucking years of my life and they send an amateur after my family. Christ, Derek could've taken him."

"And this?" Adelle asked, nodding to his shoulder.

"I was angry and tired, there were seven of them and my wife and kids were in play. Not …" Laurence/David stumbled against Adelle's desk. "Not an optimal situation. Christ, where's Whiskey. I mean, Saunders."

"She's gone."

"Tell me you have a doctor, Adelle," he groaned. "Or, if you don't, call Kyle Broderick."

"The National Security Advisor?" Adelle asked.

"He'll bring the NSA in line and send an army of doctors if he has to."

Fascinated, Adelle asked, "Why?"

"I did him a favor once."

"Laurence … I mean, David. What you and Alpha have done … what you've done to protect your family … I'm not sure any one man could whisper "Abracadabra" and have it over."

Laughing, coughing, wincing in serious pain, Laurence/David said, "It was a really big favor, Adelle."

"Similar to the one you've done me," she said, nodding at Ballard who proceeded to cleanse Laurence/David's wound with alcohol. Adelle braced against his reaction. Her former chief of security screamed. He was still panting and swearing in reaction when his wife appeared at her door. "We've just cleaned the wound, Mrs. Gray," Adelle said, smiling, beckoning the woman forward. "If you'll take over here," Adelle said, giving over the application of pressure to the gunshot wound to Kara. "I'll call Mr. Broderick."

"Kyle?" Kara said, pleased smile forming immediately. "We haven't seen him in forever, have we, David?"

Staring at Adelle, Laurence/David shook his head. "Kyle's been busy," he managed.

"He owes you," Kara said, intensity apparent. "Christ, David, he owes you."

"I know," Laurence/David murmured. "I'm calling it in. The kids?"

"Topher is telling them tall tales about you."

"That guy with the big blue ox wasn't me," Laurence/David said. Gesturing to Paul Ballard, he said, "That was him."

"You were the kid with the slingshot," Ballard countered, grinning.

"I helped slay a giant today," Laurence/David said, leaning against Adelle's desk.

"You did," Adelle DeWitt said, resting a hand on Laurence/David's too warm forehead. "In compensation, I insist you take your wife and children home and consider giving Megan a little brother."

Kara laughed. Laurence/David scowled in a manner befitting Laurence Dominic, eyes tracking from Adelle to Alpha. "Where are the fucking cameras?" he demanded.

"Find them yourself," Alpha said. "You'll have plenty of time on your hands."

"Enjoy your retirement," Adelle said. "But do have your cadre of physicians check for infection. You're feverish."

Sliding his arm around his wife, Laurence/David said, "Just like that, Adelle? Walk away, see a doc and take my meds?"

"You've earned that today," Adelle confirmed, nodding to Ballard as he offered Kara Gray a clean towel. "Just as you previously earned the funds in your Swiss account."

"I can access it?" he asked, a nugget of what looked to be hope appearing in his eyes.

"You can, so your retirement can be as leisurely as you like."

"Don't make them drag me out of it to pull you back in line."

Putting her hands on her hips, Adelle said, "I wouldn't dare to even dream of it."

Eyes far too bright, Laurence/David whispered, "Bullshit."

"Perhaps, but Topher, the champion of four year old girls who speak their minds, particularly about sex, would never agree to do his part."

"There is that," Laurence/David sighed. "Go Megan."

THE END


End file.
